Hi everyone,

As many of you know, I have recently bought a black lab puppy named Zeppelin. When I got him, I imagined that our walks would be easy, fun, and a good source of exercise. Right now it's only a good source of exercise. :P

The biggest thing that bothers me is that he stops ALL THE TIME to sniff at this and that. I literally have to drag him away a lot (he wears a harness, so I'm not hurting his neck). It's extremely frustrating and embarrassing too, when others watch. I think if I let him sniff everywhere, our walk would take a few hours! Do you guys let your dogs sniff, or do you move them along? He also drags me to people whenever he sees them, I have to use a lot of my strength to keep him away because he'll just jump and acts way too hyper.

He is also not a leader right now, he doesn't lead the walks like most dogs. He often waits for me to walk, walks behind me, then continuously switches sides from behind so I have to keep switching the leash to my other hand. Again, frustrating and embarrassing.

He chases every single leaf that he sees blowing in the wind. I actually find this funny, but annoying too (especially since there are A LOT of leaves blowing right now, and he's a strong puppy!)

Any tips on how to make my dog a more disciplined walking buddy?